Nothing is Forever
by brunaricia
Summary: "Finally the train was taking me back to District 12, where I belonged. I was ready to a fresh start: Rebuild the bakery, help Haymitch with some things, get those recovery session done and accept that maybe the best thing for me and Katniss it's friendship." Post-Mocking Jay. Inspired by a song.
1. Getting back

_Chapter 1 - Getting back._

Finally the train was taking me back to District 12, where I belonged. I was ready to a fresh start: Rebuild the bakery, help Haymitch with some things, get those recovery sessions done and accept that maybe the best thing for me and Katniss it's friendship. Of course, it didn't mean I stopped loving her, in fact I'm not sure I ever did, or if I started loving her a little after the hijacking just because everyone told me so. Either way, my feelings towards Katniss probably won't have to be sort out.

District 12, somehow managed to stay the same, even after everything went down to ashes, the smell, the weather and the station were just the way I remembered it. As I was leaving the station I saw, by the platform, flowers: Primroses. They're pretty, probably would be beautiful to have them in a painting.

When my feet touched the Victor's Village I regretted my decision, all the memories I had there... Were they real? Were they another thing Snow had inserted in my mind? My heart was beating too fast for me to walk and I ended up falling on the ground. Unfortunately, Haymitch saw me and run over me:

"What happened with you boy? Is the leg broke or something?" I didn't look at him, or said anything, not until I was on my feet.

"Great to see you too, Haymitch!" I tried to look away from Katniss' house, so I looked over Haymitch's. "Geese? Are you trying to tutor animals now?" He look back at me and smiled.

"Glad you're back, boy."

"So am I... What about..."

"Katniss? You just got here, Peeta, give yourself sometime. We'll work on her soon."

"Ok." I couldn't say anything, but ok and although his answer disturbed me a little, I had to admit Haymitch was right. So I just planted the Primroses I had collected earlier in the station and planted them back in front of Katniss' house, hoping she would like it.

The rest of the day was a blur, I slept too much, practically didn't eat until this woman called Greasy Sae came home welcoming me back and giving me soup. I remembered her after a while: She used to live here at 12 when it existed, and I remember she came by the bakery a little before the reaping. For some reason, my father liked her a lot; guess I'll never find out why.


	2. Bread Disaster

_Chapter 2 - Bread disaster_

I spent two or three days just on my bed, doing nothing, but thinking about the future. What's next for all of us? After those reflective days, I decided to start doing something. I woke up early, searched for food everywhere in the kitchen and found out that Greasy Sae brought a lot of stuff, including a small sack of flour. I grabbed some ingredients and started to bake. I hadn't realized that I missed baking until that moment: it's relaxing.

After a couple hours I had a big loaf of bread. It was not smelling that good since I hadn't got any herbs nor cheese. Cheese! Another memory: Katniss' favorite. Was it? There was only one way to find out. The next minute I was getting ready to buy cheese. I left home and there she was, 25 yards from me, wearing her hunting outfit. There again, my heart was beating fast, like when I was hijacked, only this time, I don't want to kill Katniss, I have an urge, a curiosity, to be around her and know what she's really feeling. But I didn't come any closer. Not now.

These long months I spent in the capitol after the war made great things for 12, especially at the square, it was starting to look like the one we once had. The old men from the grocery shop was quite happy to know I was better and back to district 12, I felt home again.

It took me about half an hour to get everything I needed and after that I went to the bakery where I lived before the games. It was all destroyed, the only thing I managed to find at one piece was the shop sign my brothers, my dad and me spent a hole day doing. I could feel a warm tear coming out of my eyes while I smiled remembering this moment: My mother was furious when she saw our clothes; the four of us had an insane paint war and ended up having green paint even inside our ears. I missed them.

When I got back to the Victor's village it was something about noon, and my stomach was asking for food, so I went over to Haymitch's to make sure he had something to eat and maybe we would have lunch together.

I knocked the door and no reply, but got in anyway... He was probably too drunk to open the door. Turned out, I was right; He was still asleep in the sofa, with a knife in his hand.

After an hour I had stewed a beef he had in the fridge, baked small loaves of bread and some potatoes, and the smell of it probably woke his stomach and himself up.

"Isn't it Peeta Mellark, the baker boy!"

"Morning Haymitch, why so early?"

He just smiled and joined me by the table. We didn't talk much about anything, just some comments about everything I bought from the groceries shop and how he needed to do the same. It was only after I started to wash the dishes he mentioned her.

"Have you seen the girl, already?"

"I saw her today... In front of her house... I guess she was going to hunt. Why?"

"How did you feel? Is the hijacking influencing you yet?"

"No, I don't think so." I answered in a rude tone. Is he really worried I was going to try to kill her again?

"Sorry kid, we all have to know."

"We? Is sh.."

"No!" He interrupted me. "Of course not! She was barely getting out of bed these last couple months. It was a relief when she went to the woods. I said we as in me, the doctors and even you! Be smart, kid. Don't let it get into you."

"I won't. I didn't. I'm better now Haymitch, otherwise the doctors wouldn't let me come back, would they?"

"I don't know, boy, you do have persuasive talk, an..." He stopped, shook his head and looked at me. I didn't understand what it meant. "But, no, the doctors wouldn't let you out without knowing you're ok. Either way, be careful."

I finished the dishes and went back home, frustrated. I'm doubting, myself, that I'm ok, now. Would I try to attack Katniss? What if the mutt inside me suddenly wakes up and I happen to be at Katniss' or even try to enter her house? I guess the bread topped with cheese will be baked another day. Or won't be baked at all.


	3. Colors

_Chapter 3 - Colors_

The next three days ended up just like my firsts days back: on the bed. Not to say I've done nothing, I called doctor Aurelius for a weekly recovery session and he convinced me to paint again and said he had already sent me supplies that I was supposed to get in the station the next morning.

After a late breakfast, I went upstairs to organize the room where I used to stay entire afternoons when the games were over, luckily, it was not a mess, Greasy Sae must have done that for me before I came back home. Then, I got downstairs and heard someone knocking on my door: probably Haymitch looking up on me, but when I opened the door and froze.

"Peeta?"

It was Katniss.

"Come on, boy, I'm freezing here." And Haymitch. "The geese are giving me a hard time... One of them ate a rock or something, and now it can't even walk properly, I had to spent hours outside taking care of it."

"Hi Katniss." I forced myself to say. "It's more like the goose spent the morning taking care of you, Haymitch..." He gave me a bad look and I faked a smile. "Anyway, I haven't baked anything yet, but I think I can do it now..."

"Oh, no, no, boy, we're not here to eat."

"So..."

"Katniss wants you to help us with something."

"What's that?"

"Umm.." Since I came back that day was the first time I had heard her voice and by the tone of it: she's still very broken. "Do you remember my family book? Where my father drew..."

"Yes. I remember it, I guess..." I interrupted when a memory popped in my head. "I colored some of the drawings. Real or not real?"

"Real." She said behind a sad smile. "I want to start a new book... Where we can put some good memories we have. About all of us."

That was actually a great idea.

"I'm in." I said. "When do we start?"

"I thought we could do it every other afternoon."

"Good! I was on my way to get paint supplies that Dr. Aurelius sent me, if you don't mind waiting, we can start it today."

"Yeah, it's ok...and... I'll go with you, Peeta."

"Oh, no, I prefer waiting..." Haymitch said when I looked at him. "You know, here I have some... refreshments." He took a small bottle of liquor out of his jacket and smiled to us. I just wanted to drag him, so it would be less... awkward.

Our way to the station was silent, none of us wanted to talk, we only exchanged words when we got in there and she helped me to pick the two boxes that were sent. I caught her eyes looking at the colors I had now, she chose this interesting tone of green to stare at... a green we would use to paint the trees in the woods. So Katniss...


	4. Home

_Chapter 4 - Home_

The next sequence of events happened too fast. One moment, I was in the station getting my things with Katniss, the other I was taking Mr. Cassius to the hospital.

Cassius is the man who takes care of the post office service at 12's train station, it's a new job here cause before it was one of the peacekeepers duties, but now they have this new system where people can work for the "new Capitol". After he came back from 13, he assumed this new job and it's not a hard thing for a 50 year old: to receive posts from the Capitol, and now, from the other districts.

"What's wrong with him?" The doctor asked.

"We don't know. He fainted and when we couldn't wake him, we brought him up here straight away." I said watching over Katniss. Normally we would bring injured or ill people over to her house, to her mother, to her sister, but it's no longer possible to do so...

It seemed like she would be the one fainting now. I took her hand and led her to a chair they had next to a door.

"Do you need something? Water? Anything?"

"No, I... I..." She started crying and I could see she was hating herself for crying, especially in front of someone. "Let's go home, Peeta."

"Sure. Let's go." I ran over the doctor and gave him my telephone number, so we could hear when Mr. Cassius got better, and then held Katniss leading her home.

When we arrived there, she had stopped crying, but still looked like she would faint at any moment. I grabbed a cup of water and gave her. She ignored it.

"I...I... think I'll go get some sleep..."

"Sure. That's good... Do you want me to take you upstairs?"

"No... No... Peeta, thanks!"

"You don't have to thank me. As I recall, we're allies, aren't we?"

She just looked away and went upstairs. I wished I had more time to be with her. But, I guess she did too... In the middle of the stairs, she called my name.

"Yes?"

"Would you stay with me?"

"You said that exact thing in the train when we were in the Victory tour. Real or not real?"

"Real." I had to stop a little to digest this new information. Once again I had realized I loved Katniss before Snow took my real memories away, but I knew what I said in respond.

"Always." I repeated after a while, just like I had done that day.

The rest of the afternoon was good for me... I tried not to sleep in case I woke up hijacked from a dream, it hadn't happened in a while, but since Katniss is the on who triggers it, I found that avoiding sleep was a good idea. And it was, I remembered some traces of Katniss: how her hair smelled like chamomile, how she now had some traces of burn, how long her fingers were and the way she talks when she is sleeping. I did love her. I do.


End file.
